Copra-drying apparatus



J. D. McCORD- COPRA DRYING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED OCLSI. 1911. RENEWED m4. 2. 920.

1,341,655. Patented June 1, 1920.

4 SHEETS-SHEET l- 1. D. McCOHD.

COPRA DRYING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. 31, I917. RENEWED JAN. 2,1920.

1,341,655: 7 Patented June 1, 1920.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

IZUE/ZZET' 1.. D. McCORD.

COPRA DRYING APPARATUS. APPLICATION men 001.31. 17911. RENEWED IAN. 2. sezo.

Patented June 1, 1920.

4 SHEETS-SHEET a.

J ;w 77f Zia/L/Ufi WFCOZCZ l/ M 7% UNITED STAT 11s; PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN D. MOGOBD, OF MANIILA, PHILIPPINE ISLANDS, ASSIGNOR TO SAN PABLO OIL LIMI ED, 0F MANILA, PHIIIIBPINE ISLANDS, A. CORPORATION OF PHILIP- EINE ISLANDS- Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 1, 1920.

Ajpligat ion filed Qctober 31, 1917, Serial No. 199,547. Renewed January 2, 1920. Serial No. 349.093.

To. all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN D. MoCoRD, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Manila, Province of Rizal, Phili pine Islands, have invented certain new an useful Improvements in copra-Drying Apparatus, of which the following is a specificatio i y invention relates to an a paratus for drying co ra and more particu arly to that type of 'evice disclosed in United States Letters Patent No. 1,219,016, granted to me March 13, 1917, for a copra drying apparatus. In my prior Letters Patent, I have disclosed a drying apparatus for co ra, whe in the prd u tso c bu i n and the heated air are circulated through independent channels around the units, for the urpose of heating the same, and the heate air is circulated through the units. In this prior structure the meat-carrying trays are removably mounted upon stationary trayholders that are secured to the side walls of the compartments, to which access is had through a doorway extending the height and width of the stack of trays. After conid able e imsntat ona ha tained that by causing a movement of the trays upward or preferably downward, within the compartment, a more uniform treatment of the copra results and at the same time the operator is permitted to secure a continuous operation of the apparatus by inserting a fresh tray at either the top or bottom of a compartment Wh never a finished tray is removed from the opposite P 1 9 th e One of the objects of my present invention, therefore, is to prqvide means whereby the cocoanut meats in each column of the trays may be subjected to a uniform treatment from the heated air, whereby each tray will be iven a uniform amount of heat. It is also an object of my invention to provide means for moving the trays in either a downward or an upward direction (preferably the former) in each compart; ment. A further object of my invention consists in providin means whereby, when the trays are rnove downwardly, for example the operator may conveniently rem re the lowe m st fin shed t y, r fi he said tray (or another tray) and insert the same at the top of the compartment, or vice versa. And I further provide means whereby the upper and lower trays may be changed without the necessity of opening the entire front wall of the compartment as is done in apparatus disclosed in my prior patent. X

Other advantages of my invention will be obvious after an understanding of the struc-' ture is had, and I prefer to, accomplish the divers objects in substantiall the manner hereinafter fully set forth an as more particularly ointed out in the claims, reference being had to the accom anyin drawings that form a part of this speci cation, n h ch,

Figure 1 is a longitudinal elevation of a portion of one side of my apparatus, parts of the same being broken away to disclose the interior constructions.

Fig. 2 is a vertical section of a portion there f- Fig. 3 is a horizontal section thereof on line of Fig. 1, looking in the direction of the arrows.

Fig. 4 is a vertical section taken on line 44, of Fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is a transverse vertical section taken on line 5-5, of Fig. 1.

Fig. 6 is a longitudinal horizontal section taken on line 6-6, of Fig. 1.

Referring to the drawings, it will be seen that my invention preferably comprises two stacks of oppositely facing chambers, 10- 10, preferably arranged in pairs, with a central wall 11 dividing the same. and two stacks of batteries thereof disposed on opposite sides of the centrally arranged heater, 12. The heated products of combustion are circulated from the heater 12, through longitudinal bottom fines 13, up through vertical flues 14. at the outer ends of each battery or section, then horizontally back over the top of said battery or section through horizontal upper fines 15, and thence downwardly and upwardly through vertical flues 16.17, atthe inner ends of each battery or section. Upon reaching the vertical. flue 16, the heated products of combustion pass downwa dly upon the outside of the bai fles 18, an up through the vertical flue 17, formed between the same, from which they are discharged through a suitable stack 19.

Mounted preferably above or adjacent the heater isa blower 20, that forces fresh atmospheric air down through its nozzle or outlet passage 21, into a horizontal passage 7 22, leading to and under a battery or seetion of compartments at the bottoms thereof and above the lower horizontal hot air flue 13. This fresh atmospheric air thereby be comes heated and is circulated around the compartments 10, 10, between the latter and the hot air fiues, through the vertical passages 23 that lead up to a horizontal passage 24, that is provided at its opposite end with a vertical passage 25. Suitable openings 26, are provided in the bottoms of each compartment 10, 10, so that the fresh heated atmospheric air may be circulated through the same, and outlets 27 are provided in the tops of each compartment for the exit of the heated air after passing therethrough. In order to provide additional circulation and consequently increasing the temperature of the fresh air, suitable dividing walls 28 are provided in the lower horizontal air passage 22, so that the air will be circulated back and forth through same, and it will be observed, by the particular arrangement of the hot air fines and the heated air passages, that the products of combustion do not come into direct contact with the articles being dried within the chambers 10, but only pure, fresh heated air will be admitted thereto, thus avoiding contamination of the copra meats.

Within each compartment, I prefer to employ a plurality of trays 30, that are of a shallow construction and of any suitable design or shape, to receive the cocoanut meats that are to be dried therein and may have reticulated or perforated bottoms or solid as desired. These trays are preferably rectangular in shape and, in order that each tray will receive equal treatment from the heated air passing through the chambers, I have designed suitable mechanism for supporting and moving the trays from the top to the bottom of their respective compartments. As this supporting and moving structure is duplicated in each chamber, and in order to simplify the description of the particular construction, but a single unit will be here inafter described.

Mounted adjacent the bottom of a chamber or compartment are two horizontally disposed, elongated bearing frames 31, that extend transversely across the compartment, as shown, and are each provided with upwardly projecting bearing brackets or arms, 32 and 34. in the upper ends of which horizontally disposed parallel shafts and 36 are journaled. Suitable sprockets 37 and 38 are secured to these shafts and rotate therewith. The rear sprockets 38 are adjacent bearing 34, while the forward sprockets 37 are mounted upon their respective shafts at points adjacent the bearings 32. A pair of elongated bearing frames 39 are mounted in the upper portion of the compartment and correspond substantially with frames 31, above described, and are provided with upstanding bearing brackets or arms 40, 41 and 42, in which the horizontally disposed parallel shafts 43 and 44 are journaled. Said shafts 43 and 44 aline vertically with the respective shafts 35 and 36, mounted in the bottom of the compartment and are provided with sprockets 45 and 46 in the same manner as shafts 35 and 36, and which aline therewith. The sprockets 37 and 45 are adapted to be engaged by or support two endless conveyers consisting of suitable chains and cross pieces, the one at the right, mounted on shafts 35 and 43, consisting of chains 47 and 48 that are connected together by horizontal pieces of angle-metal 49, so that the latter provide shelves or rests upon which the tra s 30 are carried. The conveyer on the le t side of the compartment consists of chains 50 and 51, that pass over the sprockets on shafts 36 and 44, and are connected by angle-metal bars that aline horizontally with those mounted on the opposite conveyer so that the trays will be supported horizontally by the same.

Mounted upon the interior of the compartment in the upper portion is a substantially U-shaped bearing bracket 53, in which an arbor or idle shaft 54 is journaled. This shaft has a sprocket wheel 55 and a pinion 56 mounted thereon, the latter meshing with a corresponding pinion 57, carried by shaft 44.

Shaft 44 has a sprocket 58 that is connected by means of chain 59 with sprocket 55 on the idle shaft so that the two pairs of chains are driven in unison. A suitable crank 60 is connected with the outer e. tremity of one of the lower shafts, (preferably shaft 35) whereby said shaft may be actuated and in consequence of such actuation the two conveyers heretofore mentioned, are adapted to be moved in unison so that the shelves 49 will be moved downwardly within the compartment. If desired, the shafts 35 and 36, and 44, may be extended through the respective compartments into the compartment abutting the same upon the opposite side, in which event the connecting chains 59 and the related gears and sprockets may be omitted in the abutting compartment.

As shown in the drawings, Fig. 1, I prefer to provide the opening in the compartment with three doors, one elongated relatively large door 61 being disposed centrally thereof, and smaller doors 62, 63 being disposed independently thereof at the top and bottom of large door 61. This arrangement permits the operator to open the door 62, having access to the upper portion of the compartment, or lower door 63, having access to the lower portion of the compartment, without the necessity of having a door open the entire front of the compartment, thereby cooling the drying chambers.

I prefer, in the operation of the device, to actuate the conveying chains by turning the crank 60 clockwise, thus moving the inner lengths of the chains or conveyer downwardly, as indicated by the arrows of the drawings.

In the operation, the person attending the device will give the crank 60 a slight turn and open the lower door to remove the finished tray at the bottom: the door is then closed and the upper door is opened to insert the fresh cocoanut meats to be dried.

By this structure it will be observed the cocoanutmeats are subjected to a continuous stream of warm pure air and the trays bearing same are moved downwardly, step by step, from the top to the bottom of the compartment, thus permitting each tray to receive a uniform or equal quantity of the drying medium so that the trays which are removed from the bottom compartment will here receive equal treatment and not be unevenly treated as in cases where the trays are stacked on each other in permanent relation, so that the heated air will have absorbed a large quantity of the moisture from the lower trays before it has reached the top or uppermost tray.

Secured to the lower portions of the side walls of each compartment are longitudinally disposed shields 70, that preferably comprise elongated sheets of metal that are bent or curved trough-shaped in cross-section, so that their horizontal portion will extend under and past the bearing brackets 31 in the bottoms of the compartments, while their upwardly curved longitudinal edges will extend upwardly and terminate in a plane approximately alining with the horizontal plane of the shafts 35 and 36. These shields afford protection to the attendant and are adapted to receive grease dirt and other matter that may fall from the conveyers and their parts, and at the same time are adapted to support the ends of the lowermost tray 30 in the event the operator lowers the conveyer too great a distance, thereby preventing the tray and its contents falling to the bottom of the compartment and causing unnecessary delay.

While I have herein illustrated and described certain specific means for carrying out my invention, I do not desire it understood that I limit myself to this precise structure, for it will be obvious to others skilled in this art, that divers modifications may be made without materially departing from the' spirit of my invention. It will therefore be understood that all such changes are contemplated within the scope of my invention as expressed in the appended claims.

What I claim as new is 1. A copra drying apparatus comprising a suitable chamber, means for circulating heated. air around and through the same two pairs of sprockets and chains dispose in opposite sides of said chamber, upper and lower shafts upon which said sprockets are mounted, angle metal strips connecting each pair of chains, removable trays supported by said strips, a pinion upon One of said shafts, an idle gearin mesh with said first mentioned pinion, an arbor for said idle gear, and a chain and sprocket connection between said arbor and the oppositely disposed convcyer shaft whereby the motion of one conveyer is transmitted to the opposite conveyor and the proximate runs of said conveyers are caused to move simultaneously in the same direction.

2. A copra drying apparatus comprising a suitable chamber, means for circulating heated air around and through the same, two pairs of sprockets and chains disposed in opposite sides of said chamber, upper and lower shafts upon which said sprockets are mounted, angle metal strips connecting each pair of chains, removable trays supported by said strips, a pinion upon one of said shafts, an idle gear in mesh with said first mentioned pinion, an arbor for said idle gear, and a chain and sprocket connection between said arbor and the oppositely disposed conveyer shaft whereby the motion of one conveyer is transmitted to the opposite conveyor and the proximate runs of said conveyers are caused to move simultaneously in the same direction, one of said shafts being extended through the Wall of said chamber and a crank mounted upon said extended end.

A copra drying apparatus comprising a suitable chamber, means for circulating heated air around and through the same, conveyors disposed in opposite sides of said chamber the facing portions of said chambers being adapted to move in downward direction, upper and lower shafts for each conveyor, a pinion rotatable with one of said shafts, an idle pinion in mesh with said first mentioned pinion, an arbor for said idle pinion, and a chain and sprocket connection between said arbor and the oppositely disposed shaft of the other conveyer.

4. A copra drier comprising a chamber, means for circulating drying medium around and through the same, a plurality of removable trays within said chamber, oppositely disposed simultaneously movable conveyers provided with means adapted to support and move said trays, and devices in the lower portion of said chamber adapted to support the lowermost tray after said conveyor passes below said devices.

5. copra drier comprising a chamber, means for circulating drying 'medium around and through the same, a plurality of removable trays within said chamber, oppositely disposed simultaneously movable conveyors provided with means adapted to support and move said trays, and upwardly curved shields in the lower portion of said chamber adapted to support the lowermost tray after said conveyer means passes below said devices.

6. A copra drier comprising a chamber, means for circulating drying medium around and through the same, a plurality of removable trays within said chamber, oppositely disposed simultaneously movable conveyers provided with means adapted to support and move said trays, and upwardly curved shields secured to the side walls of said chamber and extended below and partly around the lower portion of said conveyors and the upper edges whereof are adapted to support the lowermost tray after said conveyer means pass below said edges.

Si ned at Manila, Province of Rizal, Philippine Islands, this 17th day of July, 191

JOHN D. McCORD.

Witnesses:

RICARDO LAZARO, E. H. JENKIN. 

